


Trinemates

by orphan_account



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Drabbles, Family, Gen, Humor, Lighthearted, Pranks, Seeker Trines, Seekers, Siblings, Slice of Life, Trine - Freeform, Trinemates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:14:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26457751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Slice-of-life drabbles about Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 49





	1. Soundwave

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this at one in the morning.

Thundercracker balanced a datapad in one servo and a half-full cube in the other. Skywarp sat to his right, both mechs at their usual spot in the "cafeteria", as Skywarp had dubbed it. Since their arrival to Earth, Skywarp had dedicated his free time to learning about humans and their pop culture. That included their slang and terminology, much to both Starscream and Thundercrackers' annoyance.

It was fairly quiet, just a low chattering among the Vehicons. Thundercracker could ignore them easily, their conversations reduced to mere background noise. It was good.

"You know what I was thinking?"

While it lasted.

"No." The blue flyer responded drily. He legitimately did not know what his Trinemate was thinking, that was impossible. He also didn't want to hear it.

Skywarp looked across the room at Soundwave, who had just entered.

"I was thinking, what's the deal with the visor?" The purple seeker asked in a lower voice than usual, so that the communications officer wouldn't be able to hear him.

At this point, Thundercracker quit trying to focus on what he had been reading and looked at the mech in question. Soundwave was currently filling his own Energon cube, the other mechs having tripped over their pedes trying to give him a wide berth.

"I mean, bots gotta have optics, right? Like, there's something underneath, right? That can't actually _be_ his face. Like when humans wear shades. Their eyes are still there. Maybe it's the same with Soundwave."

Thundercracker glanced quizzically at Skywarp, having no idea what he was going on about. He was about to reply when Skywarp cut him off.

"And he's always so...composed. Nothing shakes him. Just all tall, and silent. And dark. Like the boogeyman. Bot probably doesn't even have feelings." The purple flyer glanced briefly at his Trinemate. "Huh. Kinda like you, TC."

At this Thundercracker raised an eye ridge. The purple Seeker turned back to Soundwave, and Thundercracker could almost hear the landslide of unrelated and dumb thoughts Skywarp was having. Skywarp didn't necessarily have conversations. He just spoke whatever miscellaneous thought came to his processor and went down a spiral of rants, even if no one was actually listening.

"Pfft, bots make too much noise about Soundwave. He's not even that intimidating." Skywarp squinted. "Doesn't say anything. That's not scary. Hmph, silent type. I'll tell you what is scary-"

"You do know Soundwave can hear you, right? He's telepathic."

Skywarp froze.

"What."

Thundercracker resisted a smirk at the prank he was playing. He didn't actually know if it was true, but there were rumors.

"Oh yes." He nodded in confirmation. "They say he can read minds and that he hears everything. Especially if some bot is talking about him."

Skywarp looked back and forth between his Trinemate and Megatrons' Third in Command across the room.

"No! He couldn't have heard me! He's not telepathic...is he?"

At that moment, Soundwave turned towards their side of the room, and Skywarp almost pulled a neck cable trying to avoid optic contact.

"Scrap SCRAP! He saw me! I'm dead, I'm dead!"

Thundercracker almost burst out laughing at seeing Skywarp panic. The purple flyer fidgeted anxiously in his seat, leg bouncing up and down rapidly, and trying very, very hard not to turn around to look.

"He's coming after me!"

Soundwave was, in fact, walking in their direction.

Thundercracker cracked an evil grin.

"Yep. He heard everything you said. He's coming this way."

Skywarp almost fainted.

"TC! You gotta help me!"

The blue Seeker watched Soundwave get closer. Skywarp was shaking, metal plates jittering noisily. In his panic, he was frozen between warping out or running away.

This was too good.

Soundwave, for his part, got closer and closer, and then strolled right past them and through the exit doors next to their table. The automatic doors opened and closed with a metallic hiss.

There was more than one entryway to the Energon room. Their table happened to be by the third doorway, which opened to the corridor leading to the front of the ship and to the control hub. Where Soundwave was usually at.

Thundercracker had watched Soundwave until the doors closed behind him, then turned to Skywarp, who was completely still, optics wide and completely stupefied.

"TC." He managed slowly, after a few klicks ticked by.

"I swear he saw me. He looked at me. Evilly. I don't even know how thats possible without optics, but he did. He knows. And he's going to come after me. I'm a dead mech." Turning to his blue Trinemate with pleading optics he asked, "Can I stay with you? For safety."

Oh frag no.


	2. Datapad

Skywarp knew a spot.  


It was a really good place. Actually, it was  _ the _ best place, now that Skywarp thought about it.

It was the perfect place to hide Thundercrackers' datapad.

It wasn't even a prank. Skywarp was just very bored, and he had already pulled a prank on Starscream eight cycles ago, which the Third in Command was still fuming about. Skywarp was sure that if he did anything so soon Starscream would finally snap and offline him, Trinemate bond be damned.

So that left Thundercracker. But it had already been two cycles since he had hidden it, and Thundercracker didn't even seem to notice. Which was grating on Skywarp's nerves. Thundercracker was taking all the fun out of the prank!

Over those two cycles Skywarp had stared intently at his companion, trying to see if the blue flyer was bothered but trying to hide it. If that was so, he was really good at it. In fact, Skywarp hadn't even seen him _try_ to find his datapad.

By the third cycle, Skywarp decided to take matters into his own servos.

"Oh TC!" He singsonged as he sauntered into his Trinemate's room.

"Whatcha doing?"

Thundercracker was hunched over his little worktable, various tools and adhesives scattered around him. In his servos was an object so small Skywarp couldn't tell what it was. Thundercracker barely acknowledged Skywarps' presence, not looking away from said object.

"I'm busy." He said drily. "What do you want?"

"Oh, you know. Just bored." Skywarp picked up a stray filament of alloy from a corner of the worktable and started to fiddle with it. He made it into a little loop before it snapped and broke in the middle. Oops.

Thundercracker paused his crafting and glared at his uninvited guest.

"Can you go be bored somewhere else?"

Skywarp smiled broadly. Time to put his plan to work.

"Actually, TC, instead of doing your little art project, don't you wanna, I dunno,  _ read _ something, hmm?" He watched the others' faceplate, waiting for a reaction.

Thundercracker warily side-eyed the purple flyer before going back to his project.

"Not really."

Skywarps' grin faltered a bit as his ploy didn't work.

"Aha, well then, uh..." He struggled to come up with a different idea. He hadn't thought this far!

Then it came to him.

His smile broadened. "Actually, I lost mine. I came to ask if I could borrow yours."

"You lost it?" Not that hard to believe, knowing Skywarp.

"Yep." The purple flyer just stood there, with that same stupid smirk still on his faceplate.

Thundercracker watched him with suspicion for a moment, before sighing.

"Fine. If it'll get you to leave me alone. Don't break it."

Then he reached into his subspace and pulled out his datapad.

_His datapad._

Skywarp stared dumbstruck.

If Thundercracker still had his datapad, then who's datapad did he hide for three cycles? 


	3. Arctic

The groundbridge systems had been down for a few cycles, thanks to a lucky shot from one of the Autobots. But there were coordinates to be checked and unconfirmed Energon spikes that needed confirming. Which forced the Decepticons to do things the old fashioned way. 

One of said coordinates was located somewhere in the coldest part of the Arctic, much to Megatron's glee. That's where he sent Starscream and his Trinemates.

The trio flew in a perfect triangle shape, with Starscream at the front and Skywarp and Thundercracker to his left and right, respectively.

The leader double-checked the coordinates Soundwave had sent, noting that they were almost reaching their destination.

The wind blew against them, strong and frigid. The landscape was bleak, nothing but white ice and blue ocean stretching on to the horizon. They had been flying for some time, and frost was starting to form on their wing tips.

" _ Starscream _ ," Skywarp whined over the com link. "Are we there yet?"

"Not yet. And we'll get there a lot faster without your complaining!"

"But it's cold."

"It's the  _ Arctic _ ." Thundercracker joined the conversation. "It's  _ supposed _ to be cold."

"Yeah, I know that. I'm not stupid." The purple flyer responded. "I just didn't think it'd be  _ this _ cold."

If he could, Thundercracker would've stared at his companion in amazement, wondering how one bot could be that dense.

"Skywarp, you do understand what temperature is, right? Because - "

From the front, Starscream yelled through the link.

"Will you two keep it down back there? I should've left you two back at the ship!"

"Yeah TC! Shut up. Starscream said so." Skywarp said smugly.

Starscream gave an exasperated groan.

.....

The scanner showed three dark purple dots on the grid, representing the Trine, and one bright red dot that pulsed slowly. Having landed on a large glacier, the three Seekers trudged through the snow trying to follow the glowing dot.

Perhaps it was the cold, or the thick layers of ice, but something was interfering with the signal. It kept flickering to different positions on the map, much to Starscream's annoyance. He couldn't get a proper read, and they had been following it for a while.

He scowled at the scanner before giving it a violent shake. The red dot disappeared for a brief moment before reappearing about half a mile behind them.

"Maybe the coordinates are wrong." Skywarp offered. "Why don't we just ask Soundwave?"

"No!" Starscream responded curtly.

"But if would be faster if we just -"

"No Skywarp! We are not asking for directions. And we're especially not asking  _ Soundwave _ for them." Starscream could only imagine the ridicule they would face when they returned, unable to find  _ one _ simple artifact without running to Soundwave for help. He would never hear the end of it!

"Fine." His Trinemates stopped in their tracks, reluctant to continue following their leader.

"I'm tired." Skywarp declared before plopping down on the snow to rest, and Thundercracker stood next to him.

"Let us know when you find it."

Starscream scoffed.

"Suit yourselves."

Skywarp and Thundercracker looked at each other, then at their leader, who started off in a random direction.

Pedes sinking into the snow, Starscream went a few paces to the right, before making a sharp turn and going to the left. He didn't go far before he changed direction again. He cursed at the scanner before throwing it down on the ground and stomping on it angrily.

"Yeah!" Skywarp hollered. "You show that scanner!"

Starscream gave both of them an icy death glare before stooping to pick up the scanner, which now sported a cracked screen. He still needed the thing, after all.

.....

Thundercracker peered over the edge of the glacier they were on. The water below looked far away, deep, black, and very cold. He couldn't help but imagine plunging into it; the freezing impact, the waterlogged mechanics, liquid sloshing in places it shouldn't be... he shuddered at the thought. 

At a much safer distance, Skywarp was on his knee struts, sculpting something blocky and indiscernible next to two other equally unidentifiable shapes. Each one leaned in a different direction, and were of different heights.

"Look TC." He finished adding the final touches to one of them and pointed at it. "This one is you."

Thundercracker looked at the pile of snow. It barely resembled a Cybertronian. In fact, it barely resembled anything at all. It looked more like a messy mound of snow, with odd misshapen snow balls attached to it. The top of it slowly slid down and fell off with a muffled 'splat' sound.

Skywarp beamed with pride at his creation.

"It's..." Thundercracker tried to think of what to say.

"Nice."

Skywarp smiled.

"Of course it's nice! It looks just like you!"

Thundercracker was about to retort that no, it absolutely did not look like him, but was interrupted by Starcream's voice over the comm.

"Decepticons!" He called. "I've located the relic. Get your afts over here!"

Somewhere in the distance, Starscream had stopped meandering and was standing still in one spot.

"Going." Thundercracker replied. He started a few paces towards Starscreams' location before noticing that Skywarp hadn't moved. He turned to the purple flyer.

"You heard him, let's go."

Skywarp shifted a little in the snow, but made no effort to get up.

"I can't feel my legs."

.....

Starscream waited impatiently as Thundercracker dragged Skywarp along. The purple Seeker was being dramatic, letting himself go limp and becoming dead weight. Weight that Thundercracker was done carrying, as he pulled him through the snow only for a few seconds longer before dumping him unceremoniously near Starscream's pedes. 

"Ow." Skywarp lay on the ground for a moment, regaining feeling in his legs. "Oh TC, it just warms my spark knowing that you care so much."

The blue flyer kicked some snow onto Skywarp's faceplate. "Skywarp, I'd scrap you first chance I got."

Skywarp gasped in mock offense, wiping the snow off and standing up. He turned to Starscream and pointed a digit accusingly at Thundercracker.

"Starscream! He's being mean to me."

"Quiet, both of you! We're wasting precious time." Starscream glanced at the scanner.

"Here." He indicated with a pede. "This is where the artifact should be. Start digging."

.....

A few slow cycles later, Skywarp and Thundercracker had dug a pit into the glacier, deep enough that the edge of it was a little over their helms. And not a single cycle had gone by without Skywarp complaining.

"It's cold."

"I'm tired."

"It's probably not even here."

The blue flyer ignored him. That was not the response Skywarp wanted, so he changed tactics. He stopped digging and held a servo to his helm.

"I think I'm gonna faint." He swayed a bit, to really sell it. "TC, you'll have to finish without me." Seeing that Thundercracker didn't even acknowledge him, Skywarp let his servo drop and gave up. "Fine, I'll help. But if I freeze to death I'm blaming you and I'm not leaving you any of my stuff."

Thundercracker rolled his optics at his Trinemates' antics. Skywarp was learning that from Starscream, no doubt.

Scooping out some more snow, his servos felt something round and metallic. He scraped some ice off the top and dug around the shape.

It was a golden round object, slightly bigger than his own servo, with swirling engravings all over the surface. It certainly looked like an artifact.

"Starscream!" He called. "I found it!"

"Hey let me see!" Skywarp made a lunge for the object, but Thundercracker held it high and away from the other. Starscream's helm appeared at the top of the large pit they had excavated, having done nothing whatsoever to help them dig it. Rather, he had paced back and forth, complaining about the temperature the entire time and urging his Trinemates to work faster.

"And what are you waiting for?" The leader scolded. "Bring it to me!"

Both flyers climbed out quickly, more than happy to get out of the pit. Thundercracker gave the artifact to Starscream, who inspected it, turning it in his claws.

"It's a ball." Skywarp observed.

Starscream rolled his optics. "I can  _ see _ that, Skywarp."

He rotated the object, trying to find a seam that indicated it opened in some way. There was no distinguishable line or slot; the golden swirls wrapped around seamlessly. With a clawed digit, he pressed at a particular indent, hoping it was a button. No such luck. The object appeared to be a solid metal sphere, engraved with decorative patterns similar to those of ancient Iacon.

"Let me try!" Skywarp again made a lunge for the artifact, snatching it from Starscream's servos. He poked at the globe for a second before Thundercracker stole it.

"Hey! I wasn't done!"

"You're going to break it." Thundercracker said, before inspecting the object himself. There was a bit of weight to it, but otherwise seemed like nothing but a simple decorative sphere.

"Enough!" Starscream seized the artifact. " _ I'll _ hold onto it. An important piece of history like this should be in  _ capable _ servos. We will leave immediately. I've had enough of this cold." He gave one last annoyed look at the landscape. He was done with the icy climate. "And take this back to Megatron."

"But I just wanna look at it!" Skywarp protested, reaching for the sphere.

"No, Skywarp!" Starscream turned and held the artifact high over his helm, but Skywarp jumped and tried to take a hold of it. Thundercracker joined the scuffle, trying to keep Skywarp away from Starscream and from the artifact. The three mechs fought like siblings over a toy, and in the struggle they moved closer to the edge of the large glacier.

Then, as three different servos tried to grasp the globe, it slipped, flying a short distance before rolling off the glacier. The three flyers looked at each other for a split second before scrambling to the edge. They watched in horror as the metal globe fell at a rapid pace and splashed into the icy water, sinking into the black depths.

Scrap.

.....

Megatron was in the command center aboard the Nemesis, supervising the flight trajectory when the doors hissed open and his designation was called out. He turned to find three Seekers, completely soaked and dripping water onto the floor. 

"The artifact, my Liege." Starscream stepped forward and presented the golden orb. Megatron plucked it from his grasp and watched Starscream with an amused smirk. The Trine leader's wings drooped slightly, his frame wet, undoubtedly cold, and looking absolutely miserable. Skywarp and Thundercracker were a few paces behind, equally wet and sulking.

"Ah, yes." He looked at the artifact, then at the dreary Seekers. "Successful for once, Starscream." And with that remark, Megatron waved them away.

The Seeker leader bowed stiffly and mumbled some incoherent parting words before turning heel and leaving quickly, his Trinemates following suit.

Megatron watched them leave from the corner of his optic, enjoying every bit of Starscream's suffering. He rolled the metal sphere in his servos and turned towards Soundwave, who was occupied typing at a terminal.

"Now find some coordinates in the hottest desert on this planet. Preferably with sand storms."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I imagine Starscream looking like an angry, wet cat.


	4. Monologue

Having completed his duties for the cycle, and his presence not required anymore, Thundercracker left Dreadwing to his own devices and made his way down the corridors of the Nemesis. 

Turning a corner, he stumbled upon Skywarp and a small group of Vehicons, some flyers and others grounders. They were huddled close, snickering and peeking around the edge of a doorway into a dark room.

"What are you doing?"

The bots started, and turned around in surprise. They stiffened momentarily, caught off guard, but relaxed when they saw that it was only Thundercracker.

Skywarp shushed him. He waved Thundercracker over, the Vehicons moving slightly to make space for him.

"It's Starscream." The purple flyer explained with a smirk. "He's monologuing."

Thundercracker raised an eyebrow ridge, before peeking around the corner to see for himself. And sure enough, inside the room, Starscream paced around, unaware that he was being watched.

"And they will  _ rue _ the day they got in my way! I'll show them all!" Starscream stomped to the other side of the room, servos moving dramatically in the air as if he was re-enacting some scene. "They will bow before the mighty wrath of Starscream, Emperor of Destruction!"

The Vehicons tried to muffle their laughs, optic bands glowing in bursts. Thundercracker watched in amusement, and Skywarp was making bets with a Vehicon to his left.

"Watch this, watch this," Skywarp motioned at the Vehicon to pay attention. "He's gonna say Megatron is a fool."

"And  _ Megatron! _That  _ fool!_"

"Told ya!" Skywarp whispered. "Pay up."

The Vehicon groaned before forking over three small Energon goodies. Skywarp smiled with glee as he subspaced his earnings.

They watched as Starscream then climbed on one of the terminals, the added height giving him a sense of superiority, which reflected in the tone of his monologue. Raising his right arm, he aimed the missile on his wrist at a point in the room, pretending that he was aiming for Megatron's spark. The group eavesdropping snickered at his theatrics.

"But one day, dear Megatron, _ I  _ will have all the advantage! You will die by  _ my _ servo, I swear it!" He cackled. "Just how I offlined Cliffjumper!"

"He always brings that up." Skywarp remarked. "Like, all the time."

The Vehicons nodded in agreement. They remembered that after offlining Cliffjumper, Starscream spoke of nothing else for  _ cycles _ . He strutted down the hallways of the Nemesis, boasting to everyone that he had "personally offlined an Autobot." By the fifth cycle, even Megatron was tired of hearing about it.

Thundercracker shrugged, watching Starscream hop off the terminal and strut across the room. "He's just proud of it because that's practically his only accomplishment."

"Pfft. I've shot  _ plenty _ of Autobots, and you don't see  _ me _ bragging about it." Skywarp said. 

Thundercracker turned, staring at Skywarp incredulously. "You have terrible aim. Actually, in all the time I've known you, I've never even  _ seen _ you aim. Your shots don't even come  _ close _ to an Autobot."

"I have perfect aim, ask anybody!" Skywarp turned to the Vehicons, who all looked away in different directions, trying to avoid optic contact.

At this point of his speech, Starscream turned slightly towards the doorway, and the bots scrambled to hide behind the walls, out of view.

 _"I_ _think he heard us."_ Skywarp whispered loudly, and Thundercracker facepalmed, motioning to his Trinemate to be quiet.

They waited with baited breath for a few klicks, until they heard Starscream resume his monologue. One particularly brave Vehicon peeked to see if the Seeker had turned the other way. He had, and was now going on about how Megatron was going to beg for mercy and so on and so on.

One by one, the bots slowly peeked around the doorway, inching closer to get a better view. Thundercracker was almost positive that at least one of the Vehicons was recording. Two of them were making bets as to what Starscream would say next, bringing out small Energon goodies from their subspace. Skywarp also joined, taking out his previously-won sweets, and then immediately losing all of them to one of the flyers. Thundercracker chuckled quietly at his Trinemates' misfortune, before turning back to watch Starscream.

Starscream had a penchant for the dramatic, and everybot on the Nemesis had gotten an audial-full of his ranting. However, there were rare occasions when Starscream thought he was alone, and took the opportunity to think aloud. Loudly. He would describe his plans to overthrow Megatron, list off reasons why he was a better leader, dramatic reenactments, ideas for names. "Emperor of Destruction" was one of his favorites. Just rolled off the glossa.

Essentially, it was just fun to watch, and in this case, no one had much else to do.

Inside the room, Starscream gave an evil chuckle. "What's that, Megatron?" He brought a servo to his audial mockingly. "I can't hear you! Oh, what's that? Begging for mercy are we? Hmph! Let me think..." he made a show of pondering. "No! I don't think so! Should've thought of  _ that _ when you abandoned me in that cave to offline!"

"He's got a point there." One flyer spoke up. A few others nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that was a bit cruel."

"I remember that." Skywarp said. "He sulked for  ages."

The play Starscream was starring in was coming to an end. Or was in the third act. Thundercracker couldn't really tell, but from Starscream's animated movements he guessed in was some sort of climatic final battle. As entertaining as it was, Thundercracker had other things to get to.

"Okay," He said, pushing off from the wall. "I've seen enough." He turned to leave, only to see that Megatron himself was walking down that same corridor, in their direction.

"What is going on here?" The Decepticon leader bellowed. "Back to your posts!"

The Vehicons scrambled to make themselves scarce. Upon hearing Megatron's voice, Starscream paused his theatrics and took a few tentative steps towards the doorway. He poked his helm out before slowly stepping through, hoping that Megatron hadn't heard his monologue. He inched closer to his Trinemates, and Thundercracker was positive Starscream was trying to hide behind Skywarp. The three Seekers stood there as the Decepticon leader approached.

"Uh," Skywarp racked his processor for an excuse. Coming up blank, he resorted to his usual - blame someone else. He jerked a thumb at Starscream. "He was talking about you." And then he vanished, warping away and out of the situation, leaving Thundercracker, Starscream, and the Decepticon leader alone in the corridor, the Vehicons long gone. Though Thundercracker thought he saw one flyer out of the corner of his optic, poking around a corner to see what happened.

"And what, pray tell, " Megatron turned to Starscream, who shrunk under his steely gaze. "was he saying?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starscream's in trouble now.


	5. Pink

Skywarp trudged through an alley behind some human warehouses, knocking over trash cans and grumbling about how boring recon was. He kicked a stray cardboard box and watched it bounce off a brick wall, the loose tabs flapping open.

Rounding the corner of a squat industrial building, he stumbled upon a pile of grey plastic buckets, stacked carelessly on top of each other. He accidentally knocked over multiple, the buckets tumbling one after the other and making a heavy thudding noise.

Skywarp stepped back, and realized that he had crushed one, the thick plastic snapping and crumpling beneath his pede. The bucket had exploded, splattering a liquid pigment across the pavement, a splash of blue against dark asphalt.

" Ew, it got on me!" Skywarp lifted his pede, the underside coated in a dark blue foreign substance.

_Great._ He rolled his optics. _Now I look like Thundercracker._

Bending down to pick up the crushed bucket, he noticed that each one had a different colored label wrapped around the middle. There were many shades of white that looked almost identical, subtle warm tones, and a few loud primary colors.

About half a dozen buckets still remained stacked against the wall, splashed with dried patches of pigment, color dripping from the lids. One hue caught his optic. It was a bright, obnoxious, hot pink. Squinting, he could barely make out some human glyphs on the label, sounding them out mentally.  _ Polyurethane. Enamel.  _ Elements he had never heard of, but by the sound of them he was almost sure they were a type of human chemical. Fancy words or not, Skywarp knew exactly was he was going to do with the pigments.

He looked around the alley, down both ways to make sure no one saw him, then bent down to pick up one of the buckets still standing, one with a hot pink label. The human numbers read  _ five gallons_ _._ Looking up, he counted about ten or so of a similar hue. Picking up another with his left, he weighed them, trying to guess how much he'd need. The liquid felt thick inside the bucket, moving as he tilted the container. Four, no, five should do it.

He quickly subspaced a few more of them before transforming and flying back to the Nemesis, hatching his plan along the way.

.....

Standing on the tips of his pedes, Skywarp gingerly balanced a bucket of paint over the doorway to Starscream's habsuite, wary of the liquid paint inside. He rotated it slowly, getting a feel for the right balance. This little maneuver required the utmost concentration. After adjusting it a little more to the right, he stepped down from the crate he'd brought and admired his handiwork. 

The line of metal fiber he'd stolen was looped around makeshift pulleys, weaved around the doorway and tied to five buckets of paint teetering precariously at the top. It was messy and sloppy, with knots in the wrong places and unnecessary loops. He'd accidentally cut the line short a few times and had to tie two pieces together. But other than that, it was perfect.

The idea had seemed brilliant at the time until he realized he knew nothing of pulley systems. But after some quick research, some hasty trial and error, and a few unsuspecting Vehicons, Skywarp finally achieved a rig he was sure would work. Bots could say what they wanted of Skywarp, but a lot of effort went into his stunts. Being annoying required  _ dedication_ _,_ mind you.

He picked up the tools scattered on the floor and dumped them into the crate he had used as a step ladder, along with the excess wire. He carefully stepped over the line running across the entryway and poked his helm out the doors, looking both ways down the hall to make sure there were no witnesses. No bots were around. Perfect.

Juggling the equipment in his servos, he snuck out and gently shut the doors manually, the paint sloshing ever so slightly with the movement.

Now all he had to do was wait.

.....

Thundercracker was in his quarters, contemplating the meaning of life and all existence when he heard Starscream screech somewhere down the hall.

"SKYWARP I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Not the first time someone threatened to offline Skywarp. And Starscreams' shrieks were practically a daily occurrence, the Second in Command hyperventilating at the smallest infractions. But there was something about this particular yell, and possibly the loud commotion that followed it, that convinced Thundercracker that this time it was something serious.

The automatic doors of his habsuite opened with a hiss, and Thundercracker stuck his helm out to see what the racket was about.

A very familiar purple Seeker zipped by at full speed, flying haphazardly, wing tips knocking into the walls with a metallic screech and causing sparks. A small group of Vehicons barely managed to dive out of the way, crashing into each other and looking very startled.

Immediately after, Starscream flew by, screaming all the ways he was going to dismember Skywarp.

Thundercracker barely caught a glimpse of his Trinemates as they zoomed past his quarters, but he noticed something odd.

Starscream was pink.

.....

In the medbay, Knock Out inspected Starscream's servo. He knew a thing or two about the chemicals humans used on their cars. However, the pigment currently covering Starscream from helm to pede was different from the paints he was used to. 

"How," He tried to stifle a laugh, fighting to keep his faceplate steady. "How exactly did this happen?"

Starscream glowered at the floor, red optics bright and seething. "Skywarp." He spat.

"It was a prank, I think." Thundercracker explained, leaning against a medslab. He drummed his digits on the edge, optics flicking between Starscream and Knock Out. "He rigged Starscream's habsuite."

Knock Out hummed, almost smiling. "Well. The shade is atrocious. Hot pink? At  _ this _ time of year? Unheard of."

Starscream just grumbled, picking at the paint on his kneestrut.

"It brings out your optics." Thundercracker shrugged. That was a lie. "If you squint, it doesn't even look half bad." That was also a lie. The paint wasn't even uniform. Multiple variations of hot pink were combined, dripping from Starscream's helm and splattering the rest of his frame. His top half was covered almost entirely, drooping wings coated with marbled pink.

Knock Out tilted his helm a bit to the side and blinked, then smiled. "Hm, you're right. Well, if applied properly, I'd say it takes off a couple millennia, don't you think?"

Starscream bristled, and yanked his servo away. "Can you just remove it?!"

"You should keep it." Thundercracker snickered. "You look better with it."

Starscream glared daggers at his Trinemate, frame tense.

"The thing is, I don't know what kind of paint this is." Knock Out gestured at the pigment. The paint had dried to a glossy, hard shell, and had clung to the surface of Starscream's armor. It did not flake off, and scratching at it made little difference. "Humans usually use chemicals strippers. Or we could... sand it down. But I don't have that equipment."

"Sand it! Melt it! I don't care how you do it, just get it  off!"

Knock Out tapped lightly on Starscream's forearm. "Chemical remover." He decided, then turned to rummage around the storage compartment on the wall, looking for chemicals that could possibly dissolve the paint. "But I must warn you, I can't just whip up a solvent without knowing the  _ composition _ of the paint. It could have chemical reactions, burn or dissolve your armor."

"Polyurethane."

All three mechs were startled at the voice, and turned towards the source of it. On the far side of the medbay, a relatively safe distance from Starscream, Skywarp had warped in without any of them noticing. 

"And enamel." He shrugged. "So, basically it's kinda permanent." That wasn't necessarily true, but he threw it in anyway. 

With a smug, scrap-eating smirk, he warped out of the room before any mech could make a move.

Starscream stared at the spot where Skywarp had been, right optic twitching and looking absolutely livid. He wrung his servos tightly, flexing his claws, on the verge of losing it. 

"Knock Out." He said, in a grave tone. "I will require your assistance in dismembering and disposing a body." 

.....

Outside the medbay, Skywarp pressed his helm to the doorway, straining to hear what was being said. At Starscream's threat, he stepped back, turned around, and quickly walked down the corridor to find a decent hiding place. 

Honestly, he was surprised that the rig had even worked. He had waited forever for Starscream to finally enter his habsuite and trip the line, and even then, a little more to the left and the paint would have missed altogether. Skywarp would have to cover the whole entryway next time.

Well, if there was a next time. He mentally went through the different parts of the Nemesis, trying to think of a spot he hadn't used before. Probably where the engine was located. No bot ever went in there. Or maybe the lower decks, in a dusty storage closet. He could probably hang out with the Vehicons for a few cycles, see what they were up to.

Either way, his idea had worked. Now all he had to do was avoid Starscream for a vorn or two, just until he cooled down.


	6. Sneak

Skywarp slunk around the vault where they kept the artifacts, trying his best to step lightly. It wasn't working very well. Each step made an audible, low 'clang' sound as his pedes hit the metal floor. 

"I'm a master of stealth." He whispered to himself, squinting through the darkness. Narrowed optics scanned the cylinders, searching for a particular artifact he had in mind.

He rounded a hovering unit before tripping over his pedes, stumbling a little before stabilizing. He looked around, hoping no had seen that. The vault remained dark and silent, the stored artifacts the only witnesses to his flailing. He stood up straight, clearing his voicebox, and squinted at the floor, trying to find what he had tripped over.

One of the floor tiles was raised slightly. He glared at it hatefully. Clearly, it had tripped him on purpose.

He stepped around it, and continued down the rows of units, until he found just what he was looking for.

The Phase Shifter floated in the center of the cylinder, being held in place by a blue light. Skywarp smiled in glee when he saw it, reaching in the light to grab it and pulled it out. He rotated the cuff in his servos, pushing at the buttons to see what they did. It glowed to life with a little whirring sound, the intricate lines lighting up. His mind began to race with all the things he could do with such a powerful device. Fascinated with the glow, he forgot that he could already go through walls.

He turned around, and started to walk back towards the exit, fiddling with the cuff. He patted the surface of it, and the glow died. He tapped it again, and it lit up. On, off.

Turning it on again, he looked up towards the exit and froze. Thundercracker was standing in the doorway, blocking it and watching him. Skywarp felt his Energon lines run cold.

"TC!" He laughed nervously. "What, what are you doing here?"

Thundercracker crossed his arms. "What are  _ you _ doing here, Skywarp?"

Skywarp turned the Shifter off quickly before putting both servos behind his back, Thundercracker clearly seeing his obvious attempt at hiding the artifact.

"I was just..." Skywarp looked around the room, as if he could find an answer in the walls. His optics traced the seams in the wall panelling before glancing briefly back at Thundercracker, still staring at him and waiting for an explanation.

Skywarp grinned nervously, then jerked a thumb behind him where he had stumbled. "Um, there's an uneven tile back there. Somebody tripped over it...maybe we should do something about that."

"You're avoiding the question."

"It's a safety hazard. I wouldn't go that way if I were you."

"What were you doing in the vault, Skywarp?"

Skywarp sputtered, his bluff failing. "Me? I wasn't doin' anything. I was..." And then he got an idea, optics brightening at his genius. He smiled, confident in his ploy.

"I dropped an Energon goodie and it rolled in here so I came to get it."

Thundercracker raised an optic ridge. "Really."

"Yes."

Thundercracker narrowed his optics. "Energon goodies don't roll. They're cubed."

Skywarp's smile faltered as his lie immediately fell apart.

"Well, mine did. But I got it back now, so I'm just going to leave..." He started to go around Thundercracker, but the blue flyer stepped in front of him.

"Where do you think you're going with the Phase Shifter?"

Skywarp looked off to the side, feigning innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You really think I didn't see you hide it? You're holding it right now."

"Okay fine!" Skywarp brought his servo from behind his back and showed the artifact to Thundercracker. "But I wasn't gonna use it, or anything. I'm just  _ looking _ at it. What? A bot can't look at stuff?"

Thundercracker glared, optics steely. "Put it back."

"Ugh, fine." Skywarp made a show of giving up, throwing his servos up and starting to walk back to the hovering unit he had taken it from.

"You're not supposed to be here, anyway." Thundercracker called after him.

"I can go wherever I want." Skywarp responded smugly. "I'm a higher officer, I have access to all the rooms."

Technically, anybot could go anywhere in the Nemesis. Otherwise nothing would ever get done. But not anyone could operate the control systems. And definitely not just waltz in and grab an artifact for personal use.

Thundercracker watched as Skywarp begrudgingly placed the Shifter back in the light, letting it float in the center. "Artifacts are dangerous weapons, and only authorized mechs can use them."

"I'm an authorized mech!" Skywarp protested. "I'm part of the Trine!"

"All authorized mechs  _ except _ you." Thundercracker couldn't even begin to imagine how badly things could go if they gave Skywarp free reign over the artifacts.

Skywarp crossed his arms huffily, glaring at the blue flyer. "That's so not fair."

"Life isn't fair, Skywarp. Besides, shouldn't you be somewhere else?"

The purple Seeker rolled his optics and threw his arms up. "Fine. I got the hint." He sidestepped his Trinemate and through the doorway, turning around to make sure Thundercracker saw him exit.

"Look, I'm  _ leaving_ _,_ see?" Then he turned, picked a seemingly random direction, and went down the hallway.

But Thundercracker knew better. He knew his Trinemate well enough to know the purple flyer was up to something. He'd given up too easily, and made an obvious show of it.

He stood in the room, arms crossed, and waited in silence for Skywarp to try and sneak back inside. He listened intently for the telltale sound of Skywarp's teleportation, or of pedesteps. A few klicks passed by, and he heard nothing other than his own intakes and the low hum of the hovering units.

Skywarp had gone a few steps down the corridor leisurely, then quickly darted to the side. Pressing against the wall, he waited in a little crevice that hid him from view but allowed him to see the entryway to the vault. He kept his optics on the open doors, waiting for Thundercracker to leave.

The blue Seeker stood near the entry. He was a fairly patient mech. But so was Skywarp, when he wanted to be. Both of them were completely still and silent, engaged in a battle of wills, waiting for the other to make a move.

Klicks passed. They heard Starscream yell somewhere near the bow of the ship. Then the sound of something crashing. But other than that, silence.

Not hearing anything, Thundercracker sighed, shaking his helm, and left, the door hissing closed behind him.

From his spot hidden from view, Skywarp grinned when he saw his Trinemate give up and leave.  _Ha!_ He thought.  _ Loser. _

He grinned to himself, and waited a little longer. He heard Thundercracker's echoing steps fade away, then shuffled to the entryway, the sensors picking up his presence and opening. He gave a quick cursory glance around the hallway before sneaking back inside the artifact room.

.....

Skywarp sauntered down the corridors, trying his best to act nonchalant and not like he was up to something. He passed by a few bots who glanced at him briefly, but other than that paid him no mind. Skywarp made sure to smile at each of them. He was just a passing bot. Nothing to be suspicious about. 

Going down to the lower decks, he made a few turns, throwing a few quick glances over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being followed.

Further down, in an unsuspecting corner in the lower floors of the Nemesis, Skywarp met up with a little group of five Vehicons, who were engaged in conversation before he arrived.

"I got it!" He whispered, taking out the Shifter from his subspace and showing it off proudly.

"Why are you whispering?" One Vehicon piped up. "There's no one here except us."

That section of the lower levels was practically vacant, no bot around except for them. It was the very reason they had decided on that spot in the first place. Skywarp faked a chuckle, before clearing his voicebox.

"Right," Then he extended a servo expectantly. "First I gotta see the goods."

The Shifter hadn't been for him. The Vehicons had offered him exactly three goodies to sneak in and steal the Shifter for them, and Skywarp had been very quickly convinced, with the exception that he got to use it afterward. Three goodies  _ and _ one cycle with the Shifter? It was a fair deal.

One flyer stepped forward, bringing out the promised Energon sweets, small and all equal in shape. Skywarp optics brightened up at seeing them, taking them and subspacing them quickly. Then he handed the Shifter to one of the Vehicons, the self-proclaimed leader of the group. "Just bring it back before next cycle, okay? TC saw me take it, and I think he's onto me." The purple Seeker looked around him nervously, wings tense. "I think he knows we're up to something. If anyone asks, you never saw me, deal?"

The Vehicons nodded, the confirmation easing Skywarp's nerves a bit.

"Um," he gestured at the artifact. "What exactly are you gonna do with it?"

.....

"So," Thundercracker stared hard at Skywarp, who avoided his gaze. The purple flyer fiddled with his thumbs, biting the side of his lipplate. He deliberately avoided Thundercracker's optics. 

"You have no idea who might have stuck all of Starscream's things into the walls."

Skywarp shook his helm, humming in denial. Thundercracker followed his Trinemate's gaze to a blank section of wall.

"No idea, hm?"

"I mean," Skywarp shrugged, raising his servos. "I'm not saying I had anything to do with it, buuut Starscream  _ has _ been kinda mean to -" He caught himself. "S-some bots, so I see why someone would do it."

"So you know who did it."

Skywarp blinked. "I have no idea who did it."

Thundercracker wasn't buying it. "Really. Because whoever did it used the Phase Shifter." He scrutinized Skywarp's faceplate, hoping to see some flicker of reaction when he mentioned the artifact.

"Nope." The purple flyer looked off to the side. That wall sure was interesting. "No idea." He had to admit that sticking all of Starscream's belongings in the walls of his habsuite had been creative. Starscream had screeched so loud he strained his voicebox. Skywarp was sure everyone on the Nemesis heard it.

He wondered if the Vehicons were done with the Shifter yet. He was really looking forward to getting to use it.


	7. Donut

The night was quiet, a warm breeze passing over Skywarp and Thundercracker as they flew. Distant stars glittered in the sky, obscured in a few places by a wandering cloud. 

They glided smoothly over a small town, the glowing human signs and lights shining brightly against the darkness. They had almost passed it when Skywarp suddenly shouted through the comm link, static cracking and interrupting Thundercracker's thoughts abruptly.

"TC, look at that!"

Thundercracker lost his balance briefly at the sudden loud noise invading his processor, and was about to scold Skywarp for it when the purple flyer unexpectedly dived towards the ground.

"What the - " Thundercracker halted his trajectory abruptly, making a sharp turn and diving after his Trinemate, who was making a beeline for a particular intersection of road.

_ "Skywarp!" _ He yelled through the comm link, diving steeply downwards to try and catch his Trinemate. He swore, Skywarp had the attention span of a grain of dirt. The purple flyer had probably seen something shiny on the ground.

Thundercracker reached the ground faster than he expected, landing heavily and less gracefully than he would have liked. A cloud of dirt exploded from his impromptu landing spot, the earth beneath his pedes caved in and cracked.

A few paces away, Skywarp stood near a lonely building, optics transfixed on something. The building was partly lit, but there were no humans in it. It was positioned near the roads leading out of the town, a solitary, small structure.

"What are you looking at?" Thundercracker walked over, and followed Skywarp's gaze. The purple flyer was staring at a round shape with a hole in the center of it, being held up by a tall pole, positioned a pede or two next to the small building. The shape was large by human standards, half illuminated by three flickering lightbulbs near the bottom of it. It was beige, one side colored pink and dotted with squat rectangles of multiple colors.

Skywarp circled around it. "I've never seen anything like this before. And look!" He pointed at the top right of the shape. It was missing a chunk. "Something took a bite out of it!"

Thundercracker rolled his optics, and scanned the shape. He made a quick search on the data-net for a similar image, and found that the shape resembled a human food. "It's a donut. Humans eat it."

"Doe-naught." Skywarp repeated, emphasizing the wrong sounds.

"No, just donut." Thundercracker corrected.

Skywarp stared for a moment. "That's what I'm saying. Doe-naught."

Thundercracker threw his servos up in exasperation, shaking his helm slightly. He was not going to waste time trying to talk sense to Skywarp. It was hopelessly pointless to try to explain something to the purple flyer. Whatever he said would just go in one audial, float aimlessly in Skywarp's empty processor, and go out the other audial.

Skywarp glanced back at the shape, looking again at the missing piece and gasped. "Wait, do humans grow that big?"

"Don't be stupid, they do not."

The purple Seeker inspected it. "Maybe it was a giant."

"There are no giants on this planet."

Skywarp peered at him suspiciously. "How do  _ you _ know?"

"Logic, Skywarp. We've never encountered one, and this planet could not possibly sustain a species that big." Thundercracker didn't know much about the things living on the planet, and he honestly didn't care, but he was quite positive that everything inhabiting Earth was fairly tiny. In fact, he was almost sure that  they were the giants.

But Skywarp was not one for logical thinking.

"Pfft, TC. Please. Obviously, these giants are  _ invisible. _ That's why we haven't encountered one." He said matter-of-factly, as if trying to explain a basic concept to a simple-minded bot.

Thundercracker blinked, staring at his Trinemate incredulously.

The purple flyer poked at the large sign, finding that it was actually some sort of metallic structure, and not a squishy food. So it was a metal replica of the human doe-naught. Interesting.

Skywarp stopped prodding at the object and looked around. The small building was alone, sitting on the outskirts of the town. There were no humans around at this time of night, save for a few lonely cars in the distance, traveling through the main roads. He looked back at the structure, the pole standing almost near his chest and the round replica roughly twice the size of his own helm.

The pink half was fading near the top, years of direct sunlight wearing the paint. Smudges of rust were starting to eat away at the edges of the colorful chips, the entire bottom of the round shape dull and browned with age. It must have been bright and shiny at some point, but now looked faded and sad.

He gave it about two seconds of thought before deciding.

"I want it." Skywarp declared.

Thundercracker crossed his arms. "No."

"What, why?"

"It's human. We're not taking that aboard the ship."

Skywarp paused, looking at the replica. He was already thinking of ways to sneak it aboard. "I'm taking it."

"Skywarp, no."

"I'm gonna do it." He inched closer to the structure, servos reaching out slowly to grab it. "I'm gonna take it."

"Leave the human sculpture alone. You don't know what kind of contamination it could have."

Skywarp pouted. "But I  _ want _ it! It's just what I need. And I know exactly where I'm gonna put it."

"Skywarp," Thundercracker pinched his olfactory bridge in frustration. "I'm not helping you take that thing back to the ship."

.....

Gliding through a warm current, Thundercracker could hear the exaggerated grunts of his Trinemate, who was carrying the metallic donut to his back, and was now struggling to fly evenly under the added weight, his balance off. It caused a bit of drag, forcing him to fly slower and off to the left behind Thundercracker. 

The object started sliding to the left, and Skywarp tilted his wing upwards so it wouldn't fall off. It slowed, then started sliding to the other side, forcing Skywarp to tilt again in the opposite direction. He huffed, as if balancing the object was a very difficult thing to do.

The donut wasn't even that big, nor was it very heavy. The bottom of it was uneven where Skywarp had torn it from the pole, the metal ripped and ruined, partial framework jutting out.

Skywarp purposefully kept making exaggerated noises, complaining about the drag, annoying Thundercracker the entire flight back to the Nemesis. He probably hoped Thundercracker would offer to help him carry it. Fat chance.

"Can you shut up already?" Thundercracker spoke through the comm link. "It's not even that heavy and you know it."

"You're just jealous that I have a cool doe-naught and you don't." Skywarp sounded a bit out of breath, and Thundercracker wasn't sure if it his Trinemate was faking it or not.

"I'm not jealous of your stupid human thing." They were closing in on the Nemesis, the large ship looming in the sky.

"You are so jealous."

"Am not."

Skywarp adjusted his position, the donut sliding back between his wings. "Yes you are."

"No." Thundercracker could care less about the human thing, and he knew this back and forth banter would go on until they reached the Nemesis. Reluctantly, a small part of him had to admit that as long as it made Skywarp feel happy, he was fine with it too.


End file.
